Kensington Retriever – (Short Story)

So I was searching through folders of old writing on my computer and came across an old short story I’d written in Grade 11. It has a pretty interesting story, but it’s also written very badly, which is pretty hilarious! I found out a lot about the 16 year old me by reading this. I learned that I thought it was a Hydrogen lamp and not a halogen lamp! I used to use clichés like crazy! I really like the name Alexander, cause I also named one of the main characters in Ouroboros Alexander! I used to and still like to make the reader answer some of the questions the narrator poses about how some aspects of a story will ultimately go. And I was even more morbid as a High School student than I am now. Hope you enjoy this very random short story.

*I haven’t changed any of the text from the original .doc; but at parts, I really really wanted to! 😉

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Rapid bursts of sound shot out from behind him. He shifted around to face the noise. The dense humidity of the rain forest hung low on the ground, making everything clammy and uncomfortable. The thick tropical branches enveloped the remaining members of Alex’s group. His nightvision goggles weighed heavily on his brow. Holding his automatic riffle close to his chest, he moved cautiously through the jungle. The silencer, as well as other miscellaneous gadgets, on the end of the riffle added extra weight that caused Alex to compensate by leaning back slightly. There was rustling in the bushes beside him. He raised the riffle and placed his finger lightly on the trigger. Two howler monkeys jumped out onto the makeshift trail and screamed angrily at Alex. They jumped up and down and shook their fist. Alex shot the first monkey. The force of the impact threw it off into the thick foliage. The second monkey, disoriented by the loss of its friend, stood there a few moments, before running back into the trees. Alex smiled and turned back to his mission. There was a faint sound in his earpiece.

“Detective Inverness.”

“Talk to me.” Alex whispered. The earpiece was a two-way radio. He didn’t need to speak loudly for the microphone to pick him up.

“You should be coming up to the villa in a few moments. Keep right.”

“Roger that.” Alex cut the communication and turned off his earpiece. He didn’t need any unnecessary noise.

Successive gun shots fired noisily from behind him. Alex moved further into the trees. He ducked under a large tropical branch and stepped straight into a large puddle. The smell was surprising. It didn’t smell like water.

Gas.

Alex jumped back and then he heard the sound of a spark igniting. The explosion lit up the trees and the heat vaporized the rain. His nightvision goggles flew off his head and landed somewhere in the trees. Alex sat up and saw the burning remains the nearest trees. There was a clap of thunder and the rain started to plummet towards him.

Alex smiled. “At least we know we’re close.” Alex stood up and started to cut the gas stained bottoms of his khakis. He threw the gas-soiled cloths into the forest. He looked around for a few moments, hoping to find his nightvision goggles. All he found was broken glass.

“Oh great.” Alex swore to himself.

Alex checked the chamber of his riffle and loaded another clip. He cocked the gun and started back towards the gas puddle. He stepped around the puddle and saw the intricate array of mechanisms used to constitute as the trap.

“Charlie’s been a busy body.” There was a laser sight that triggered the machine to start. A mechanical wheel whirred around in an ellipse and a wire, attached to the wheel, pulled on the trigger of a flame-thrower. The resultant being one deep fried trespasser. Alex wondered how many more traps Charlie would have placed in his ‘fun house’. Alex would be overjoyed to nab this bastard.

He continued deeper into the trees. He kept his eyes on the forest floor and made sure not to trip any wires or laser beams. His long brown hair hung tightly to his face. He wiped back a few locks of wet hair behind his ear and forced onward. He walked carefully and then heard screaming. He stopped. It was a feminine scream.

“Yvette.” Alex whispered to himself, callously.

He kept walking and heard the familiar sound of gunfire. Charlie definitely had other traps or else he wouldn’t be hearing gunfire. All the Marines were equipped with the newest stealth attack weapons.

Suddenly light encompassed the trees ahead of Alex. He quickened his pace and burst through the foliage. He stopped two inches short of a thirty-foot fall. The waterfall just below him rushed with a white-hot intensity. Calmly, Alex started to descend the side of the waterfall. Staying clear of the thick spray, Alex started down a few meters over. The weight of his backpack caused him to hug the rocks tighter. The rocks were slippery with the constant shadowy mist. The rain forcing down on him made the backpack heavier. Alex made sure of his handholds and footholds as he descended. The loud roar of the waterfall beside him made everything else seem non-existent. He scaled down the side of the side of the waterfall with relative ease. He lost his footing a couple times, but his firm grip above him saved him from falling. He felt solid ground underneath his feet, finally, and continued along side the river and sunk back into the foliage. Large hydrogen lamps lit up the trees again. Alex checked his feet to make sure he didn’t trip a wire, but he hadn’t. Someone else was in the trees up ahead. Alex moved slowly, cautiously, forwards. He pulled the riffle of the clasp of his backpack and raised it to eye level. He clicked the safety off with his forefinger.

“Soon.” Alex whispered.

The light in front of him got more and more intense. The light was encompassing everything around him. What was going on? Alex wondered. And then he felt it. A presence he hadn’t felt in ages. A person nearly forgotten. But she was here now. He felt her. He could feel her hair around him, like in those days before she’d died. Suddenly he was forced back into reality by gunfire beside his head. The lights around him dimmed somewhat, as the bullets ravaged the tree branches inches beside him. Alex whipped down to the ground, hugging it closely.

“Damn.” Alex cursed, hitting the muddy ground with his closed fist. He hated to be caught of guard. He was used to being a step ahead of everyone; but this bastard, the Butcher, he was always ahead of everyone. It was like he knew they were coming. He had an ‘in’ somewhere. Someone was leaking him information, Alex was sure of it. Or else how would he have the knowledge that he does?

The bullet barrage stopped for a few moment and Alex was able to crawl further towards the lights. He gripped a grenade from the side of his backpack and pulled the pin.

“Soon.” Alex almost smiled as he threw the grenade down the trail. The grenade exploded in a fury of light, sound and heat. The branches around Alex shook with a frantic intensity. The shower of bullets stopped. Alex listened closely for any rustling or any sign of human life close by. But there were none. Alex still heard the far off sound of gunfire, but knew that whoever was on the trail was no longer there, or was dead. Alex moved up into a crouching position. He started to scuttle down the makeshift path towards the lights.

Why had I suddenly sensed her presence? Alex wondered. Why now, after all these years?

Alex didn’t want to think about it anymore. He concentrated on the task at hand. Bringing down the Butcher. Alex had waited almost two years to bring down this bastard. The mass killer had racked up a huge body total over the years he was rampant. Twenty-eight confirmed bodies, not counting the ones he’d bragged about on negotiation phone calls. Alex was disgusted by the killings and wanted the creep dead, but it was more personal than that. Something had happened to make him want the killer dead, but by his own hand. Alex wanted deeply to torture this sick individual. Being in Cuba he could restitute the old ways of interrogation and the United States Government couldn’t do a thing about it. Alex would just say that he was dismembered like that when he found him.

Alex started to smile. He continued down the path and then heard voices. He stopped and listened. He heard screams. There was the sound of a girl screaming. And then a male scream. He heard the sound of a large steel door creaking open. He stood up a bit to see over the nearest branches. He could see the outline of a female and a male. They were shouting at each other. Alex couldn’t recognize the language, but it sounded old. The male gripped the females arm forcefully and she screamed again. Suddenly the two ran back inside. Alex didn’t know why, but then he heard the rapid shots from the side of him. The cavalry had arrived. He heard the sound of helicopters whirring in the distance.

“Soon.” Alex whispered again.

Alex stood up to full height and ran through the trees. He broke through the foliage and into a clearing. There was a massive Spanish-style villa about twenty feet away from where he stood. Alex carefully stepped up to the house and surveyed the walls and ground for booby-traps. Finding none he ripped open the steel door he’d seen the two figures run into moments before. There was a loud click, and Alex froze. Sweat formed on his brow. He looked under his foot. He’d clicked down on a pipe bomb. Alex removed his backpack carefully. He put the pack down on the ground beside his leg. He breathed deeply and then quickly replaced his foot with the backpack. He winced, expecting oblivion, but it didn’t come. He opened his eyes and smiled.

“Not this week, Butcher.” Alex scowled.

Alex opened his backpack and pulled out his automatic handguns. He picked out a handful of clips and put them in the leg pockets of his khakis. He started down further into the villa compound. The lights overhead flickered and feinted to go dark. Alex continued on with his gun at eye level. The villa was filled with corridors and long winding passages, uncharacteristic of the Spanish-villa exterior. There were many columns of stairs going down to the basement, which was even more poorly lit. Corrugated steel paneling on the floor made every step he took incredibly loud. He tried to slow his pace, but was too excited about the prospect of actually catching this freak. After doing a quick check of the walkabout on the main floor, Alex took one of the columns to the basement. There was a thick smell of dead flesh as he sauntered further into the recesses of the basement. Alex held his breath for a moment, but realized that it was futile to try and keep the smell at bay. He recognized the smell. He knew the smell of death all too well. He’d been around death his entire life, from adolescence on. He shook away the memory of his past. He raised the gun higher and persisted down the corridor. The walls were spattered with dried blood. The lights above him kept flickering and in the distance, Alex could hear nothing. The familiar sound of gunfire was lost to him. He couldn’t hear screaming anymore. Where had the two figures gone? Alex passed a large room with dented metal doors. The sides of the doors were brown with rust, the effect of living in a tropical climate. Alex stopped by the door and saw that the door was locked with a large padlock. Alex lifted his gun and shot a round of bullets into the lock. The lock fell away to the floor and Alex pried the doors open. The stench rolled over him and lay thick around him. Alex covered his mouth and shielded his eyes, which were tearing from the smell. The room was not lit at all. Only the dim light from the corridor filtered into the large expanse of the room. With the hand he was using to cover his mouth, he unlatched his flashlight from the holster on his leg. He turned on the light and the beam shot fiercely into the room. Alex checked the ground to make sure he wouldn’t trigger anymore pipe bombs. When none were found, Alex entered the room. His countenance never changed, even though he was surrounded with the decapitated bodies of at least fifteen individuals. He’d been around a lot of death in his life. He was accustomed to it. He looked among the dead and saw what he’d feared. He saw the ring on one of the three remaining fingers of the body’s hand. The ring was a one of a kind heirloom given only to the Kensington lineage. Alex wondered what had happened to her other two fingers but decided not to dwell on it. He circled the room and saw the heads in the corner. Each with the left eye removed. He only recognized one of the heads. It was the head of Belle Kensington. The girl he was trying to find. She had been missing for over three weeks.

“I guess I’ve found her.” Alex said nonchalantly.

Alex reached to his ear and turned on his mic. “Ovid, this is Kensington Retriever, over.”

“Kensington Retriever, this is Ovid. Where’ve you been?”

“I’ve found Ms. Kensington.” Alex stated.

“Great. Bring her up, the byrdz are already landed.”

“Um,” Alex stopped. “Which part should I bring up first.”

“Oh, shit.” Ovid shouted over the earphone. “Damn it.”

Alex shut off his earpiece. He didn’t want to hear any more of Louis’ cursing.

Alex tried to identify other parts of Ms. Kensington, but couldn’t. There were just too many body parts interchanged and spread out around the room to distinguish to whom they belonged. Only then did Alex notice that there were no torsos. He saw legs, arms, and other limbs and appendages, but no torsos.

Alex grumbled. “This is getting weird.”

Alex left the room and carried on down the next corridor. He heard screaming again and but it was quickly silenced, like the sound was just muffled. Alex followed the sound, while keeping his eyes wide opened for any sort of trap. The ground was wet with blood. Alex could see that it was freshly made. Long streaks led down the corridor towards the Y junction. The streak turned left at the junction so he followed it. He started to run. He followed the streak until it curved off into a large room. As Alex approached the room he slowed and brought his gun to his chest. He slid quietly against the wall and stopped at the large metal door. The door was wide open and Alex could hear movement from inside. He put his face against the crack of the door and peered inside.

There was a man hoisting a bloodied torso into a large vat. Alex recoiled from the crack. The man picked up a huge wooden spoon and began stirring the vat. Alex continued watching. This was definitely “the Butcher”. What does he actually do with the bodies? He wondered, the sick bastard.

What he saw next revolted him, but he wasn’t surprised. Alex didn’t know why, but he had expected it. The Butcher tasted the contents of the vat. He reached into the vat and scooped out a portion in a cupped hand. He’d seen enough.

“Hey.” Alex shouted and he bounded into the room.

The man looked frightened. How such as deranged person such as that could feel frightened he didn’t know. The man didn’t look as Alex had thought he would. He was medium height and lanky, as opposed to the eight-foot towering monster Alex was expected.

This is the man we’ve been chasing all this time? This is the man who has evaded capture for over three years? He’s the one who planted the devices? Alex raised his gun in a moment of frenzied anger. This is the man who kidnapped Paris.

The man’s eyes raised quickly and his eyes opened widely, anticipating the upcoming shot. The man flinched and cowered down beside the vat. Anger welled up inside Alex. He tried to take his finger off the trigger. If he killed the man now he would never know where he’d taken Paris, or if she was even alive. The anger became too much.

Paris is already dead, Alex. He told himself. You should kill the bastard where he stands.

Coldly, Alex brought the gun back up to chest level and pulled the trigger. The shot flew out of the gun in a blinding cascade of light. There was a loud cracking sound, intermingled with a sound like the splatter of a watermelon thrown off a high rise. Alex shot the man squarely between the eyes. The man jerked crazily for a second but then was still.

It was over. Three years of searching and wondering was over.

“Put the gun down.”

Alex heard the familiar sound of a Marine from behind him. He turned around slowly.